Google Assistant now has a male voice option

Google Assistant is adding a little dimensionality to its voice characterization: The virtual AI companion got an update that adds a voice option called “Voice II” which sounds decidedly male (via Engadget). The second voice option is available in Assistant’s settings (not yet live for all, so your mileage may vary) and applies to the Home app as well as to your phone’s assistant.

It seems like the additional voice option is limited to US English only in terms of language compatibility, but I’d expect Google to roll that out to additional markets in time. It’s not a huge update, and I’m sure we’ll hear plenty more about this and other changes to Assistant at Google’s hardware event later today (which kicks off at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET) but it’s a nice addition given that gendering these assistants exclusively female is super problematic.